This
three-volume collection of studies commissioned by the Indian Council
of Social Science Research (ICSSR) explores a set of themes and issues
that have been the focus of debate in selected areas of economics in
India. The first volume traces the post-Independence evolution of the
industrial sector in India by delineating changes in policy regimes,
capturing structural shifts, identifying periods of growth and stagnation,
and assessing the factors that explain these trends. It highlights the
principal contributions in the economic literature that enrich the contemporary
understanding of India’s post-Independence industrial history.
The volume covers the development of Indian industry prior to and after
1991, when a balance of payments crisis led to a major regime change
marked by the dismantling of the interventionist structures that were
set up during the immediate post-Independence years. The essays in this
volume revisit the evidence and the debates on India’s post-Independence
industrialization; critically examine the role of the government, the
strategies it adopted, and the effectiveness of implementation; and
seek to provide an understanding of why the expectations that India
would successfully make the industrial transition have been belied.
The second volume provides a comprehensive analysis of India’s
economic integration with the global economy through trade, investment,
and finance, and its implications for domestic economic processes and
outcomes. It looks closely at the different industrial sectors and at
the changing patterns of India’s engagement with the structures
governing the global economy as well as with its trade and investment
partners. While India’s increasing share in global trade and the
growing inflow of foreign investments are important indicators of the
country’s integration with the rest of the world, the essays in
this volume also provide the other side of the story—that of the
loss of policy independence and increased sensitivity to external shocks.
The third volume is a critical review of macroeconomic issues such as
monetary policy, fiscal policy, financial liberalization, intersectoral
linkages, open economy macroeconomics, labour conditions, and intergovernmental
fiscal transfers. It surveys these themes from varied intellectual positions,
in the process, not only informing readers, but also challenging them
to engage with these viewpoints. The essays in this volume are a diverse
collection of ideas, some theoretical and some empirical, which help
to understand the macroeconomic reality of India in the post-reforms
period.